


The end of Fen'Harel

by Kasimere



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Character Death, Gen, Heavy Angst, Post Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-23 01:45:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11392773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kasimere/pseuds/Kasimere
Summary: Solas' biggest fear is dying alone, luckily for him Cole is there.





	The end of Fen'Harel

Fen’Harel was dying. 

The Dread wolf lies alone in a puddle of blood, gazing into the sky he’d sought to tear down. But he had failed, a myriad of fatal injuries left him in shambles and his opponents gone leaving only a shattered eluvian in their wake. Now he swallows a mixture of fear and blood, among the shattered remains of the world he destroyed.  
Fen’Harel, it seemed, was going to die alone. 

At least that was his assumption, but again he was proven wrong. A hand bore of the fade touches his, the essence of magic that tingles through manifested skin sends pinpricks of energy over his cooling flesh. He draws his attention to the back of a familiar spirit, a large hat and blonde hair.  
“Compassion.” He breathes.  
“You are dying.” A flat statement.  
“Yes.”  
“I cannot prevent your death.”  
“No.”  
“But I will stay here. Until you are dead.”  
“Thank you.” 

Compassion entwines its fingers with Fen’Harel’s. But otherwise remains inactive. Never the less the wolf appreciates the company. His fears subsided as fade energy laps at his heavy, numb body. He is aware Compassion can read his thoughts, but even so he feels the need to whisper a few final words now that there was something to hear him.  
“Of all my mistakes, I fear this to be the worst.” A slow exhale, “It is only fitting I die amongst these ruins.” His eyes wander from the spirit and return to the sky. “I wonder, would I have been content in victory? Or would it have been just as painful. It brought me great agony to carry out my plans- but it was my duty to set things right…”  
He trails off, the hand holding his has tightened significantly to the point of near pain. The fingers woven with his shake, and the spirit still refuses to look at his face.  
“Compassion,”  
“Oh Maker, not again. Please, please, no, I don’t want to die. This can’t be happening! Someone save us! We’re all going to die. Oh Maker, oh Maker- please!” Compassion rocks back and forth whilst mimicking the cries of Thedas and only stills when its voice returns to a plaintive drone. “You were going to destroy the world. You were going to kill our friends.” 

Compassion turns its head a fraction, the profile of a human face barely visible under the brim of its hat. It is now Fen’Harel realises that it is not Compassion that has come to him in the hour of his death.  
It’s Cole.

Solas looks at Cole and cannot decided whether he is angry, sad, or so very guilty. Slowly, ever slowly, Cole turns away again but his hand remains snare tight around Solas’.  
“It is their world now. It is not yours to destroy, not anymore. You know that, but you still tried to tear it down. Our friends at the mercy of your destruction. You hurt them. I will not forgive you.” The calmness in Cole’s voice combined with the concise nature of his speech broke through the haze making itself at home in Solas’ skull. Cole had purged himself of the weight that had once tethered him to the mortal world and yet at this moment he felt so very to a creature of the Fade.  
“There is still a trace of humanity within you.”  
A long pause, an eventual “yes.”  
“You have kept the memories of the inquisition all this time…” It isn’t a question.  
“I did not want to forget my friends.”  
Solas wants to explore the situation, to analyse the spirit and his oddities, but he feels his consciousness slipping further away.  
“I find… that I am often wrong.” He inhales weakly, the exhale is substantially longer. It rattles. “I’m beginning to think this…. Was another mistake.”  
“Yes.”  
“Compassion,”  
“…”  
“Cole, face me… please.” 

Solas wagers that despite the spirits anger, Cole still considers him a friend. Cole sits facing him, his opposite hand now holding Solas’ own, although Solas had not seen him physically move or change from his original position. Cole’s expression is blank, glossy blue eyes see beyond the physical and oddly the loudest thought the elf has is how the spirit hasn’t aged a day. This shouldn’t even be a revelation, but it has been so long since the days they had spent together it almost feels like a dream. 

It is clear to Fen’harel that Cole does not wish to divulge in conversation, and Solas must respect that. As despite the obvious disdain Cole has towards his actions he still sits beside the dying elf, still holds his hand, still chases away the old fear that’s plagued Solas’ nightmares for so long. 

Solas knows that he does not have long now, but he is content to spend this time in relative silence. 

Time passes, thoughts dissolve and senses numb, the world becomes dark and two words escape the mouth of Fen’Harel before he falls asleep for the last time. 

An apostate is dying, and a spirit of compassion comes to his side and holds his hand. The parting words of the dying man resonate with something deep inside the spirit, something long forgotten.  
“Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact, I couldn't think of an ending.  
> Also, I never write anything. So this is weird. Hm.  
> Also like, Cole is written weird in this, he's way more Asunder than I would like


End file.
